Production of printed floor coverings



PRGDUCTION OF PRINTED FLOOR COVERINGS James E. Hazeltine, Jr., Lancaster, Pa., assignor to Annstrong Cork Company, Lancaster, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania N omwnl Application April 10, 1952, Serial No. 281,670

3 Claims. (Cl. 117-15) This invention relates to printed floor coverings. More particularly, the invention relates tively high temperatures to produce a smooth wearing surface of fused vinyl resin.

Felt base floor coverings are well known to the art. Generally speaking, they have been produced by saturating a sheet of felt with asphalt or other waterproofing agent, coating the saturated sheet with a backing paint and a coating paint to provide a smooth surface for deposit thereon of a decorative wearing surface. The coating paints heretofore used have been oleoresinous varnishes and are generally applied by means of a knifecoating operation. The thus coated saturated felt is then slowly passed through a block printing machine in which a series of blocks applies various colors to the coated felt to produce a decorative wearing surface in the desired pattern. Ordinarily, the print paint, which is the term commonly used in the art to describe the material used to form the decorative wearing surface, has been an oleoresinous material or, in some instances, synthetic resinous materials.

Although these printed felt base floor coverings have been sold for a number of years and have met with public acceptance, because of the nature of the block printing process it was not possible to utilize a number of the more recently developed synthetic resins which possess highly desirable characteristics from the standpoint of a decorative wearing surface in a felt base floor covering. For example, the vinyl resins, such as polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate containing about 5% to by weight of polymerized vinyl acetate, copolymers of vinyl chloride with vinylidene chloride, and the like, they were not adapted to use in the block printing machines.

Recently, there has been developed a printed felt base floor covering in which the decorative wearing surface is obtained by block printing a dispersion or suspension of vinyl resin onto the coated saturated felt base, utilizing conventional block printing equipment. Such a floor covering is disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 207,576, filed January 24, 1951 and now Patent No. 2,624,682. A typical formulation for the wearing surface is as follows:

Parts by weight Titanium dioxide pigment 80 Lead chromate pigment 16 Dioctyl phthalate plasticizer 136 Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin 410 Mineral spirits 110 Butylated urea-formaldehyde resin (60% solids in 50-50 butanol xylene) 13.8

The titanium dioxide and lead chromate serve as coloring matter for the coating dispersion and the dioctyl phthalate as a plasticizer for the vinyl copolymer, the latter serving as the film-forming resin.

Such products are obtained by passing a coated saturated felt sheet through the conventional block printing equipment to print thereon a vinyl resin decorative wear layer and fusing the printed vinyl resin layer at comparatively high temperatures, which temperatures are substantially higher than those normally employed in the could not be used because 2,705,684 Patented Apr. 5, 1955 production of conventional printed felt base fioor coverings having a synthetic resin other than a vinyl resin The reason for this, htghertemperature is to fuse the vinyl resin film, thereby wear resistance, excellent resistance to alkali such as is normally used in cleaning preparations, and other outstanding ualities, it was found that after comparatively cause the curled floor covering ly appearance.

I'have found that this curling may be substantially completely elinnnated by maintaining the proper plastiln accordance with my invention, the waterproof foundation which is typically as asphalt-impregnated felt is coated with a conventional casein type backing paint art and form no After application of the desired the impregnated adhesive coating paint or anchor coat is are typified by application Serial No. filed March 20, 1952, by Irving I. Bezman and As disclosed in said copending application, advantageous results are obtained when the adhesive coating paint contains about 20% to about 50% rubberlike polymer-resin mixture and about 80% to about 50% inert filler; the binder mixture advantageous ly contains about 25% to 80% rubberlike polymer and about to 20% reinforcing resin. If less than about 25% rubberlike polymer is employed, the coating paint does not key well to the saturated felt base.

about 20% reinforcing resin is contained in paint, a good key between the paint and the decorative coat is not obtained. Particuiarly advantageous results have been obtained with compositions containing 40% to 65% rubberlike polymer and 60% to 35% reinforcing resin. As to the quantity of inert filler, with less than about 50% filler the desired tooth or mechanical bond between the coating paint and adacent surfaces is not obtained. However, when more than about filler is used, the coating paint possesses very little internal strength. Typical examples of tackiers and reinforcing agents which may be used are the following:

3. An isobutylene-isoprene copolyrrier containing 97-99 parts of lsobutylene with 31 parts of isoprene. 4. A polychloroprene.

parts of styrene with 220 parts of butadiene. 5. Polystyrene.

' Various combinations of tackifier with reinforcing temperatures by slowly passing the same under a series agent have been used and found to be successful for the of heating. unlts. The temperatures to which the film purpose. The preferredbinder formulation contains 35- is subjected Wlll vary, depending upon the particular com- 60 parts of polyvinyl chloride with 65-40 parts of a position thereof; but, generally speaking, the desired butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer containing 65 partsv of fusion can be obtained at temperatures of about 280 F.

bntadiene and 35 parts of acrylonitrile. Best results were to about 350 F. Following passage through the fusion obtained with a ratio of 55 parts of polyvinyl chloride Zone, the material is ready to be rolled up and transferred together with 45 parts of the butadiene-acrylonitrile coto inspection. polymer. A second preferred composition contains 50 Floor coverings made in accordance with my inven- 80 parts of a butadiene-acrylonitrile copolyrner (65 parts tion are free from the tendency to curl because a plastiof butadiene-35 parts of acrylonitrile) with 50-20 parts cizer is retained in the decorative wearing surface film. of a resinous copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinylidene Thus, I hav Overcome an extremely difi'lblllt Problem in chloride. Best results were obtained with a ratio of 70 the manufacture of such floor covering material. parts of the butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer together I claim: with 30 parts of resinous copolymer. l5 1. A process of making printed felt base floor cover- In each instance about 1 to 4 parts of an inert filler, comprising coating a sheet of Waterproof felt, pp ysuch as wood flour, micronized slate, whiting, clay, and lng over said coating a film of a composition containing the like, are employed for 1 part of the hinder or resinat least 25% y Wbigbt of plasticizer for Vinyl resin, block rubberlike polymer" ixt r printing a decorative wear layer of a dispersion of plasti- After a li ati of the an hor at, hi h may b one cizedvinyl resin onto said film of plasticizer, and fusing or more coats as described above, a plasticizer coat is the Vinyl resin layer elevated p applied so as to maintain an excess of plasticizer in In the method of making felt base floor covering and/or over the anchor coat. Any of a number of wellwhlch inclu es coating a waterproof felt material, block known plasticizers for polyvinyl resins, such as vinyl p g decorative Wearing Surface containing a Vinyl chloride and copolymers of vinyl chloride, may be used. resin over said coating, and fusing said block printed Particularly suitable are those which find use in the y RS1, the improvement cbmprising Providing a preparation of vinyl resin organosols, as such materials W l b oniaifling at least 25% Y Weigh of plasticizer are preferred materials in the production of printed vinyl 9 531d vlnyl resin Said coating Paint and Printing resin floor coverings'of the type with which this invendirectly pm a Wet film f plasficizef With a dispersion tion is concerned. Examples of such plasticizers are tri- 0f Plastlciled Vinyl I'eSiIL octyl phthalate, epoxylated soya bean oil, dioctyl adipate, A metbbd of making P n ed felt base floor coveroctyl diphenyl phosphate, trioctyl phosphate, tri- 1118s compfislng coating a waterproof felt material, 1?"

cresyl phosphate, butyl benzyl phthalate, dibutoxyethyl R y t0 fi Coated felt a Coating containing phthalate, dioctyl sebacate,butylphthaly1butyl glycolate, like butadlbne P y and a Vinyl r applying to and the like. said last-named coating a composition containing at least A preferred manner of obtaining the wet plasticizer film 2 y Weight of Plastibiler for Vinyl resin, block P involves coating the coated waterproof felt with a mixture mg dispersion of P b d Vinyl resin Onto Said mcontaining a dispersion of vinyl resin and a significant Posltlon While the film is Wet, and heating the resulting proportion of plasticizer. In other words, the last-down P p f f about tO about coat prior to printing includes the formulation of the 40 to fuse d in T651 p coatwearing surface containing excess plasticizer. A typical formulation would be one containing 3 parts vinyl I reslin disgersiim and 1 Pa plaslficizer' References Cited in the file of this patent mme iatey upon t e app ic'ation of the plasticizer coat, the decorative wearing surface is deposited by a UNITED STATES PATENTS series of blocks in a conventional block printing machine. 21133336 Beegle 13, 1933 Upon application of the blocks to the coated waterproof 2,330,353 Hendbrson p 23, 1943 felt, a plurality of color areas is formed; and because of 2,554,899 YE y 1951 the condition of the vinyl resin dispersion, these color 2,539,502 Lune 7 Mal 1952 areas flow into a uniform sharply defined pattern. 2,624,682 Haleltme 1953 v The resulting sheet material is then subjected to fusion 2,624,633 z n Jan. v6, 1953 

1. A PROCESS OF MAKING PRINTED FELT BASE FLOOR COVERING COMPRISING COATING A SHEET OF WATERPROOF FELT, APPLYING OVER SAID COATING A FILM OF A COMPOSITION CONTAINING AT LEAST 25% BY WEIGHT OF PLASTICIZER FOR VINYL RESIN, BLOCK PRINTING A DECORATIVE WEAR LAYER OF A DISPERSION OF PLASTICIZED VINYL RESIN ONTO SAID FILM OF PLASTICIZER, AND FUSING THE VINYL RESIN LAYER AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES. 